Trapped in Venice Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I woke up with my head pounding. I must’ve stayed up too late again, and forgotten to take my aspirin before bed.
I had to take some sort of pain pill before I went to bed because of these incessant dreams I kept having.
I was always running down a cobblestone street at twilight, the shadows creeping eerily. Something horrible would be chasing me, a monster way too evil for me to imagine it. I would get cornered off, trapped in an alley, the monster coming at me so fast surely I was dead.

Then, at the last minute, a man standing on a low balcony right in front of me would come into view, looking down at me, and ask, "What are you doing here? Get out. Now." I would stare blankly at him, completely unaware of the monster at that moment, wondering what he was talking about. He would sigh, and exasperated look on his face, throw his hands up in the air, and reach down to me.
I would put my hands in his, and as he hefted me up with a scary amount of ease, I would wake up.

I shuddered as my head pounded even harder, sending shivers down my spine. I stumbled out of the bed to my bathroom, pulling my towel off the rack and starting the shower, steam rising up almost immediately. I tossed my clothes onto the floor and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water wash down my back as I rested my head on the wall. Gosh, I was so tired lately. Those dreams took away from my quality of sleep.
I washed up and stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped around me. I looked into the foggy mirror, seeing nothing but the silhouette of my pink body wrapped in a really white towel.

It was hot in the bathroom, and I grabbed my clothes, walking towards the closed door, to get out of there. I walked into my room, tossing the clothes in the hamper, and putting on a red sundress. Mom would freak if I went there in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, God forbid.
I left my hair wet. My blow drier was broken, and it could dry on the way there.
I piled my bags in the back of my car and went back inside to make sure Ricky wasn’t dead before leaving.

He was snoring on his bed, lying catty cornered, head hanging off one side and a leg hanging off the other. I waved goodbye to his sleeping form and went into the kitchen.
I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, walked past the kitchen counter, grabbed my wallet off of the dining room table, and went out into the garage, keys in hand. I sat in the car, stuck my key in the ignition, and started the chore of driving a couple of hours to my parent’s vacation home.

**A LITTLE WHILE LATER**
I got to their freakishly large brick house in record time. Turning off of the road, I pulled up the driveway and drove for five minutes to the garage. I could never figure out why the driveway was so long. Maybe she just enjoyed wasting that much gas.
I parked by mom’s BMW and dad’s Lamborghini and stepped out of my car, pulling off my sunglasses to look at the house. I sighed, and actually felt at home.
We’d spent a lot of time here when I was a kid, and the only person I’d have to play with was the cook’s son, Patrick. He didn’t have red hair like the rest of his family, but his dad’s name was given to him anyways. We’d play in the creek and go hunting in the forest with sling shots. I was quite the tom boy.

"Hey, sexy. What’s brought you here?" I heard from behind me. I turned, and grinned.
"Nothin’ much, but if anything brought me here, it was you." he laughed, and came in for a hug.
"Wow, Patrick, have you been working out?"
"Not much, just liftin’ up Sarah and Lucy, my twins."
"Aah. Wow. A lot has happened while I was gone. You got married," I said to his ring, "and had two little girls. And I have done absolutely nothing with my life besides quit my job because my boss was coming on to me."
"Get out. No way. He did?"
"Yup. I was just standing there, in the kitchen, all by myself, when the boss man himself, Carter, came up behind me and did unspeakable acts. So, I quit."
"Well, good for you. Just don’t tell your parents. They’re upset enough that you got a job at a four star restaurant, and not a five star."

"Wow. I thought they’d just have a problem with me having a job period."
"Yeah, well, me and Marie talked them out of that."
"Marie? As in, my cousin Marie? How long has she been here? I’ve gotta see her. Come on." I said, and opened my trunk, getting all of my stuff out, making Patrick carry the heavier one. "Hey, you’re not complaining."
"That’s because this is a part of my job."
"Oh, man. That sucks. Seriously. Workin’ for my parents has to be the hugest chore ever."

"Yeah, but they’ve gotten better. They let mom retire."
"That’s great. I’ve gotta go see her, too." I said, and we walked into the foyer. "Wow. Who dusted?" I asked, voice echoing. The room always got really dusty when everyone was away, and it was a chore to get it breathable in here again.
"Me and Marie. She doesn’t like me having to work like this all by myself, so she helps out sometimes."
"That’s cool. But, of course, she’s cool, too." I grinned. Looking at the huge staircase, I turned to Patrick and said, "Race ya!" I got a head start because he was taken aback, but I heard him start running soon after I did. "Ha, I’m beating you!" I yelled, and he grabbed on to my ankle to pull me down.

"Not anymore!" he yelled, and tripped over his shoelace near the top. I grabbed onto the suitcase and dashed up the rest of the way, laughing.
"Ha! I beat you!"
"I had the heavier suitcase!" he said back, through his laughter.
"But you’ve been carrying around your kids, remember?"
"Yeah, but-"
"No buts. Now come on. I want to see Marie, and the only way that can happen is if I put my suitcases up."
"Ok, fine."

My heart was still racing from the race up the stairs, but it made me feel more welcome here. We’d always done that when we were younger, and it was fun to do something like that again.
"So, what else has been happening?" he asked, bumping into me.
"Nothing, really. I moved in with Ricky, and he’s a slob." I said, bumping back.
"It’s crazy how messy he is. I should a told you, eh?" he said, bumping back harder.
"Yes, you should. He was drunk yesterday, while I was cleaning his sheets!" I said, shoving him, and he laughed.

"Yikes. Sorry." He said, and poked me in the shoulder.
"Don’t start that," I warned, smile creeping onto my face.
He poked my side, and I jerked away instinctively. "Don’t do it." I warned again.
He tickled me, and I fell to the floor. "Stop!" I yelled, laughing. He didn’t, so I decided it was time to use the heavy artillery. "Fine." I muttered, and tickled him back. I rolled us over, tickled him ‘till he couldn’t function, and stood, putting my foot on his chest. "I came, I saw, I conquered." I said, and heard someone coming up the hallway.
We turned our heads, and I saw Marie coming around the corner with a three year old on her hip. She had red hair and freckles. "Marie!!" I yelled, and ran to her. She grunted when I hit her, hugging. "How’ve you been, besides marrying my best friend into the family?"

"Awesome. I learned how to make MaMa’s ice cream."
"No way." I said, and looked at Patrick. "How’d you do it??" His mom never gave her secrets.
"I gave her some grandbabies."
"Aah..I see." I said, acting like a wizened person. "Which one’s this one?"
"Lucy. Sarah loves sleeping too much for me to walk with her." She sighed, acting defeated. "But this one’s just as hyper as can be."
"Hello," I cooed at Lucy, "What’s your name?"
"Loocie." She mumbled.

"Oh, really? That’s a pretty name. My name’s Laine."
"Laaane" she said, and reached out to me.
OK, so I decided to end with the ADORABLE little red headed girl. :) Tell me how I did, OK? I’m trying to take my time and write more descriptively, and I know I really didn’t accomplish that feat in this chapter. But, I promise that the next chapter will be more descriptive and detailed. And, guess what? She’s gonna see her parents. :) Give me some tips and pointers of how you think the story should go, too….
The romance will come later in the story, this is just providing a structured back story.